Lawyers in Tune for Music Venue Deal

Posted on the 19 April 2017

Advisers at law
firm Ward Hadaway have been praised for their role on the acquisition of iconic
North East music venue The Cluny.

Experts from the Commercial, Property and Employment teams at
Ward Hadaway's Newcastle office provided legal advice to Mi Viejo Fruta
Limited, a company run by former Cluny manager Julian Ive and business partner
Steve Parkin, on its acquisition of The Cluny from North East brewery Camerons.

The new owners of the venue, located in the Ouseburn area of
Newcastle, now plan to expand The Cluny's programme of gigs and make the place
a cultural hub.

Camerons Brewery, which bought The Cluny in 2013 as part of its
acquisition of the Head of Steam chain, will continue to supply The Cluny with
a range of beers, cider, spirits and wine.

Matt Cormack, Associate in the Commercial team at Ward Hadaway,
led the firm's team advising Mi Viejo Fruta on the acquisition with support
from Property Partner Alex Wright and Employment Associate Graham Vials.

Matt said: "The Cluny is an iconic venue which has hosted
some of the very best cutting edge bands to come to Tyneside over the last 15
years so it was great to be involved in the deal which sees the venue move to
new ownership.

"It was important that the transaction was completed within
quite a tight timescale to ensure continuity for The Cluny so it was very
useful to be able to call on the services of colleagues within other specialist
teams at Ward Hadaway to meet that timetable.

"Having been to a number of gigs at The Cluny myself over
the past few years, I know what a great place it is to see bands and it looks
set for an exciting future with Julian and Steve at the helm."

Julian Ive, Director at Mi Viejo Fruta and in-house manager at
The Cluny, said: "Matt, Alex and the team at Ward Hadaway did an excellent
job to ensure that everything was correct and in place for us to acquire The
Cluny from Camerons.

"They did a thoroughly professional job which meant that we
could concentrate on our plans to develop the venue going forward.

"Having spent 11 years at The Cluny from 2005 to 2016, the
place has really become a part of me and it is a great feeling to know that we
now own it.

"We’ve got some exciting plans in the pipeline for the
business and we can't wait to get started."

The Cluny opened as a bar, café and live music venue in 2002 and
since then has hosted bands including Arctic Monkeys, Editors, New York Dolls,
The Futureheads and The Vaccines.

It was named Best Live Music Venue by music development agency
Generator North East in 2009 and has also previously featured in the Good Pub
Guide.